Managing Research for Impact: New Approaches to Research and Innovation Management11 April 2010 - 15 April 2010

Event overview

The time has come to concentrate efforts and resources on renewal in research and innovation management in Africa, and on building the capacities of research managers as well as their clients to meet the challenges posed by changing contexts and new requirements. Institutional research policies, strategies and structures must accommodate new demands and imperatives emerging from an ever-expanding stakeholder environment which includes governments, civil society, academia, industry and more. The increasing competitiveness and greater geo-political significance of research has transformed research activity from something that individuals do into a serious business for researchers and their institutions. Consequently, research managers are faced with the very complex task of reconciling a range of strategic management and organisational issues and challenges.   

The INORMS 2010 conference theme – Managing for Impact: New Approaches to Research and Innovation Management – is embodied by eight thematic sessions, namely:

•             Impact in the research institution

•             Impact on the research and innovation process

•             Impact on innovation

•             Impact on social and economic development

•             Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for research and innovation excellence

•             Building a 21st century profession

•             Diversifying the funding base by internationalising the higher education research platform

•             Developing the next generation of researchers

The event will stimulate a renewal in research management globally, but also in Africa. It will gather a range of stakeholders – research managers, researchers, governments, private sector organisations, development practitioners and research funders – to consider the latest developments in research management through training activities, special sessions, technical strands and forums. In support of the INORMS objectives, the conference theme has synergies with those of its sister associations  and consequently aims to compare the issues and solutions offered by differing experiences on different continents, and to use this knowledge to develop a better understanding of the factors influencing research management across cultures and geographic borders.